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12/17/17: S&M Studios took another step of improvement with the addition of new acoustic treatment to the entire studio. Both Studio A and Studio B have been overhauled as well as the control room and the difference in the acoustic response is staggering. In addition to the acoustic treatment, the studio has added a new major microphone to it's mic selection - the RCA DX-77 ribbon microphone has been an industry standard for recording and broadcasting for over 6 decades. It makes vocals smooth and sweet, and it is also wonderful on drums and acoustic instruments. Also the control room has added a Presonus Faderport control surface which will speed up the recording process and make more time for creativity and performance. There are more changes planned for the studio in the coming months: adding another 8 tracks of simultaneous recording to bring the total number of tracks to 16, adding microphone signal boosters to enhance the quality of the signal to the I/O, adding an additional bass amp to Studio A, to name a few.

11/6/17: Silver Lining is moving forward at a very fast pace, with the new drummer, Brad Ryan fully integrated the song list is rapidly turning over. Added to the song list are cuts from Los Lobos, Radio Riddler's wonderful Ska version of Prince's "Purple Rain", more ZZ Top, Social Distortion's "Ring of Fire", Dave Edmonds, Nick Lowe and the list is still expanding. Also added are a number of exciting originals. This new turn, expansion of the music genres, enlargement of the repertoire is making Silver Lining one of the most exciting bands in the Northern Virginia circuit.

10/10/2017: The Heavy Lifters completed the video recording for "Trickle Down Blues" and "Habit of You" on Saturday, Oct 7 on the Jammin' Java stage. The video is now in editing and final production. Release is tentative to be in 3 to 6 months

Jan 13, 2017: Cargo and the Heavy Lifters are starting the year with several shows locked up, including two new rooms. They opened the year at Bungalow Billiards in Chantilly and are due to go back for three more show there starting in April. Also added to the schedule this year so far are two shows at Madigan's Waterfront in Occoquan, Va starting in February. Check the "Shows" tab for dates and info.

Silver Lining will take the stage once again at Spanky's in Leesburg to benefit the Aurora School and the special needs kids that attend the school. The band is proud to have Full Mesh drummer Brad Ryan on this date and is really looking forward to what Brad adds to make the music groove. The event will have food, drinks and fun. There will be silent auctions, games and is motorcycle friendly. It's a multi band event starting at 12:00 and going to 1:00 a.m., with Silver Lining's time slot starting at 2:50. The band is outside at the Tiki bar in the back. This is the fourth year Silver Lining has participated in this event.

8/4/16: It was a beautiful night and a wonderful evening of great music when Cargo and the Heavy Lifters appeared for the summer concert series in Fairfax City, in the shadow of the Courthouse. "The Lifters" played two one hour sets, and nobody moved from the town square except for all the young people cooling off in the sidewalk fountain, directly in front of the band. The Lifters would like to thank Bill Culver for the incredible job he did with the mix and the p.a.

S&M Studios just added a powerful set of quality studio monitors to the arsenal. ThePreSonus Eris E8s. the E8s increase the definition of the very important low end and add brilliance on the top end. Added also to the list of available microphones is the Cascade Fat Head ribbon microphone. Wonderful for vocals and amplifier cabinets. Already the ribbon microphone has enhanced, very noticeably, the sound and tone of Geoff Holdridge's electric viola. This completes the necessary pieces to allow for full fledged, formal recordings.

12/3/15: The first all original CD, "Actual Size" has been written, recorded and is in final mix and mastering with a release set for spring of 2016. The writing and recording of the second all original CD - yet to be named - has begun and already two or three demos for it are in the can. The second album differs from the first as for the most part, this CD is about songs, not as much instrumentals as dominated Actual Size. An additional album called "One More Time" will be released also in 2016, that is all covers and re-vamps from favorite songs and will have a number of guest musicians on the tracks. Stay tuned for up coming news on all these great recordings. Also Silver Lining's 6 song demo is available for download, see the Silver Lining page.

Silver Lining picked up two new gigs for November and we're very excited about them both. Friday, November 13th at the Velocity 5 in Sterling, and also Saturday, November 28th at O'Shaughnessy's - our home away from home - in Old Town Alexandria. Follow the "Shows" tab for all the info, directions and times!